Healing Of Women Who Have Had An Abortion: A Pastoral Issue Today In an African And Christian Approach
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Date
2002-02
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tangaza University College.
Abstract
It is during my pastoral year in western part of Uganda, when I met a young
woman who had a story to narrate to me. It is her sad story that took my attention to even
think of developing it in this paper. The following is her story
..
My name is Cleopatra [not her real name], I am sixteen years old. I am a drop out from Kyebambe
Secondary School I dropped out of school immediately after the second term of Senior One. The
following is what caused my ordeal. It was when I went home for my vacation and visited my boy
friend at his parent's home. He told me that he loved me so much and has been waiting for me to
come home and visit him. I did not have a perfect relationship with him though. He suggested to
me that we have sex since it would make us friendlier. It was not right to have sex with him but I
did. After a while I started experiencing some difficulties, and when I went to the clinic, the doctor
told me that I was pregnant. When I returned to the boy, he suggested that I should go for an
abortion since we all had to finish school In fact, he was the only one who knew about it. Finally,
I had an abortion the following week. The minute left the clinic, I hated myself and wished that
someone had stopped me. Afterwards I felt like an empty soul. All my life was torn apart for what
I was told to do. Everyday I think about it. It is very hard to express my feeling and my thought.
She ended her story with tears flowing in her eyes.
Coming back to Tangaza College, I had an opportunity to attend a course in
pastoral psychology being offered and taught by Rev. Prof Raphael Wanjohi. While
discussing the topic on the victims of abortion, it gave me an opportunity to put together
the story of this young woman. Her words made me feel a strong desire to develop this
work. There is something in our heads that we know and is quite different from what we
know in our hearts. One may intellectually know that abortion is wrong, but the
emotional fears and terrors may outweigh that knowledge and prevent the heart from
understanding and acting on that truth. This was the same with my friend Cleopatra.
My approach to the whole issue is about what could be done for the woman in the
story above. She is disturbed and in agony because of the pain and loss. Having followed her story quite closely, we became more convinced that, there are many women who
might be in the same situation
hence
development of this work. We are here considering
an African as well as Christian perspective on the whole issue of healing of the women
who have had an abortion. For, as long as this ministry is ignored, we run into the risk of
developing a society of traumatized mothers or women who at the end will turn into other
abuses searching for answers that may not be found.
Description
Keywords
Healing, Women, Abortion